Controversies swirl around Maharashtra's trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, with daily revelations coming to light. It has been discovered that Khedkar obtained a ration card using a false address and, with that card, secured a disability certificate.
India Today's investigation found that Puja Khedkar obtained a fake disability certificate from the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital. She had claimed her residence at Pimpri Chinchwad, at the false address Plot No. 53, Dehu-Alandi, Talwade. However, it turns out this address actually belongs to the now-defunct company Thermoverita Engineering Pvt Ltd.
It has been revealed that Puja Khedkar had used this company's address to make her ration card. She then claimed a locomotor disability using that ration card to receive a disability certificate from YCM Hospital. Locomotor disability refers to a person's inability to use their limbs effectively.
Furthermore, the luxury Audi car used by Puja was registered in the name of the same company, Thermoverita, which has over two and a half lakh in back taxes from last year.
Source: aajtak
Training at LBSNAA Cancelled for Puja
Previously, the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie had cancelled Puja Khedkar's training program from Maharashtra and issued an immediate recall letter. Additionally, the Academy informed the Maharashtra government of this decision.
The order by LBSNAA stated that her district training program is being suspended, and she will be relieved from the Maharashtra State Government's district training program with immediate effect.
New Disclosures Daily Regarding IAS Puja
New disclosures about Puja Khedkar continue to emerge daily. She is accused of participating in the UPSC examination by submitting certificates of visual impairment and mental illness and obtaining special concessions that enabled her to become an IAS officer. Without these concessions, it would have been impossible for her to achieve an IAS position based on her marks.
She is also accused of avoiding the requisite medical examination after selection. She has refused the medical test six times for various reasons and later chose to submit an MRI report from an external medical agency, which UPSC initially refused to accept. However, UPSC later accepted this report, prompting calls for an investigation.
Questions are also being raised about her age. Documents reveal that the age details submitted by Puja Khedkar to the Central Administrative Tribunal in 2020 and then in 2023 show only one year of aging despite a three-year gap. Yet, she did not undergo any tests to prove her benchmark disability. The UPSC challenged her selection at the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which ruled against her in February 2023. She had sought relaxation in the upper age limit for persons with benchmark disabilities in her 2020 and 2023 CAT applications.
Accused of Misusing Her Position
Puja Khedkar, from the 2023 batch, is accused of misusing her position as a probationary IAS officer in Pune. She demanded amenities that are not usually provided to trainee officers, including using her personal Audi car with a red and blue beacon and VIP number plate. She affixed a 'Government of Maharashtra' signboard to her vehicle and demanded an official car, residence, office space, and additional staff.
Moreover, she took over the chamber of a senior officer in their absence. Following these events, the Pune Collector Suhason Divase wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary, lodging a complaint against Puja Khedkar. Subsequently, she was transferred to Washim district, where she joined as an Assistant Collector.
